Financial Support

Entrepreneurship is alive and well in Seattle. Business owners face new sets of challenges, including navigating the permitting process, securing financing, deciding how and where to expand, and addressing issues related to attracting and retaining quality employees. OED is here to help businesses access local resources that will help them grow.

Businesses Financing

New Markets Tax Credits OED manages a federal New Markets Tax Credit program to attract low-cost private financing for business and real estate projects in low-income areas. Financing ranges from $5 million to $20 million per project. Visit seattleinvestmentfund.com to learn about the investment criteria as determined by geographic eligibility, project readiness, and public benefits; view video application tutorials; and download an application.

Grow Seattle Fund The Grow Seattle Fund offers long-term, below-market rate financing for growing small businesses. Loans finance a broad range of business needs, such as working capital, machinery and equipment purchases, tenant improvements, and real estate acquisition. With flexible underwriting and low interest rates, each loan can be customized to complement individual businesses’ financing needs. Financing ranges from $100,000 - $5,000,000. It is most appropriate for businesses with a profitable operating history of at least two years, and capacity to service the proposed debt.

Community Lenders

Seattle has several community lenders that offer small business loans with greater flexibility than provided under conventional bank financing.

Community Capital Development (CCD) CCD provides entrepreneurs access to capital and business assistance. They offer SBA Microloans from $2,500 to a maximum of $50,000. Their non-SBA term loans range from $2,500 to $100,000, while SBA-guaranteed term loans can be up to $250,000. CCD is a Preferred Lender for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Contact Roland Chaiton: 206.324.4330 x111 or rolandc@seattleccd.com

Craft3Craft3 is a non-profit community development financial institution that provides loans to individuals, organizations, and businesses that promote the Craft3 triple bottom line mission and commitment to economic, ecological, and family resilience. The organization offers an array of capital products, including small business start-up, working capital, acquisition and expansion loans, commercial real estate and tenant improvement loans, loans to non-profits providing essential services, land conservation, and energy efficiency loans. They provide a wide variety of term loans ranging in size from $26,000 to $10 million. Contact Joan Broughton: 206.447.9226 x116 or jbroughton@craft3.org

Mercy Corps Northwest Mercy Corps Northwest is the U.S. economic development office of Mercy Corps, an international relief and development agency. Mercy Corps Northwest is an SBA Intermediary Microlender. They provide financing to small business owners who may not qualify for traditional loans. Loans range from $500 to $20,000 for startups, and up to $50,000 for existing businesses. Contact Edwin Rios: 206.547.5212 x103 or erios@mercycorpsnw.org

Rainier Valley Community Development Fund (RVDCF) The RVCDF assists business along the MLK corridor in southeast Seattle. The non-profit organization’s loan criteria are not the same as those at traditional lending agencies. They look at factors including character, business capacity, and projected cash flow, as well as the impact a business will have on the Rainier Valley community. They additionally have payment terms and interest rates that are very flexible. Loans range from $50,000 – $2,000,000. Contact: Wayne Lau: 206.722.5280 x101 or wlau@rvcdf.org, or Charleete Black: 206.722.5280 x105 or cblack@rvcdf.org